U.S. patent application number 15/670193 was filed with the patent office on 2019-02-07 for delivering troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device via a remote screen that captures the user's interaction with the computing device.
The applicant listed for this patent is International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Miron Aloni, Rotem Klein, Daniel Lereya, Vladimir Shalikashvili, Moshe Weiss.
Application Number | 20190042387 15/670193 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 65231811 |
Filed Date | 2019-02-07 |
![](/patent/app/20190042387/US20190042387A1-20190207-D00000.png)
![](/patent/app/20190042387/US20190042387A1-20190207-D00001.png)
![](/patent/app/20190042387/US20190042387A1-20190207-D00002.png)
![](/patent/app/20190042387/US20190042387A1-20190207-D00003.png)
United States Patent
Application |
20190042387 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Aloni; Miron ; et
al. |
February 7, 2019 |
Delivering Troubleshooting Support to a User of a Computing Device
via a Remote Screen that Captures the User's Interaction with the
Computing Device
Abstract
A mechanism is provided for delivering troubleshooting support
that captures a user's interactions with a local computing device.
Responsive to receiving a set of events associated with an issue
being experienced by the user of the local computing device, each
event in the set of events is presented to a technician. Each event
in the set of events is flagged as either correct or incorrect.
Responsive to the incorrect flagged event being an operation
performed by the local computing device, a communicative connecting
is established to the local computing device in order that the
technician corrects a future operation corresponding to the
operation performed. Responsive to the incorrect flagged event
being an action performed by the user of the local computing
device, an analysis is sent in order to inform the user of
incorrect actions so as to not perform the incorrect actions in the
future.
Inventors: |
Aloni; Miron; (Rishon
Lezion, IL) ; Klein; Rotem; (Kiryat Ono, IL) ;
Lereya; Daniel; (Tel Aviv - Jaffa, IL) ;
Shalikashvili; Vladimir; (Petah Tiqwa, IL) ; Weiss;
Moshe; (Petah Tiqwa, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
International Business Machines Corporation |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
65231811 |
Appl. No.: |
15/670193 |
Filed: |
August 7, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 2201/86 20130101;
G06F 9/452 20180201; G06F 11/079 20130101; G06F 11/0748 20130101;
G06F 11/0793 20130101; G06F 11/3438 20130101; G06F 11/321
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 11/34 20060101
G06F011/34; G06F 9/44 20060101 G06F009/44; G06F 11/07 20060101
G06F011/07 |
Claims
1. A method, in a remote computing device comprising a processor
and a memory coupled to the processor, for delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a local computing device that
captures the user's interactions with the local computing device,
the method comprising: responsive to receiving a set of events
associated with an issue being experienced by the user of the local
computing device, presenting, by the processor, each event in the
set of events to a technician via a graphical user interface of a
remote computing device; for each event, responsive to receiving an
indication as to whether the event is correct or incorrect,
flagging, by the processor, the event as either correct or
incorrect; for each incorrect flagged event, responsive to
receiving an annotation of an incorrect procedure associated with
the incorrect flagged event, annotating, by the processor, the
event with the received annotation; responsive to the incorrect
flagged event being an operation performed by the local computing
device, communicatively connecting, by the processor, to the local
computing device in order that the technician corrects a future
operation corresponding to the operation performed by the local
computing device; and responsive to the incorrect flagged event
being an action performed by the user of the local computing
device, sending, by the processor, an analysis in order to inform
the user of incorrect actions so as to not perform the incorrect
actions in the future.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: parsing, by the
processor, the set of events in order to separate the set of events
into individually analyzable events.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein parsing the set of events in
order to separate the set of events into the individually
analyzable events comprises: analyzing, by the processor, event
metadata associated with each event in the set of events to
identify commands received from a peripheral device and operations
performed by the processor in response to the received
commands.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein, as the technician analyzes each
event in the set of event, the technician is able to perform one or
more of playing the event, pausing the event, rewinding the event,
moving to a next event.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis provided to the user
of the local computing device includes the annotations included by
the technician.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the technician is analyzing the
events at substantially a same time as the user of the local
computing device is performing actions associated with the set of
events.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the technician is analyzing the
events at a time later than when the user of the local computing
device performed actions associated with the set of events.
8. A computer program product comprising a computer readable
storage medium having a computer readable program stored therein,
wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing
device, causes the computing device to: responsive to receiving a
set of events associated with an issue being experienced by a user
of a local computing device, present each event in the set of
events to a technician via a graphical user interface of a remote
computing device; for each event, responsive to receiving an
indication as to whether the event is correct or incorrect, flag
the event as either correct or incorrect; for each incorrect
flagged event, responsive to receiving an annotation of an
incorrect procedure associated with the incorrect flagged event,
annotate the event with the received annotation; responsive to the
incorrect flagged event being an operation performed by the local
computing device, communicatively connect to the local computing
device in order that the technician corrects a future operation
corresponding to the operation performed by the local computing
device; and responsive to the incorrect flagged event being an
action performed by the user of the local computing device, send an
analysis in order to inform the user of incorrect actions so as to
not perform the incorrect actions in the future.
9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer
readable program further causes the computing device to: parse the
set of events in order to separate the set of events into
individually analyzable events.
10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the computer
readable program to parse the set of events in order to separate
the set of events into the individually analyzable events further
causes the computing device to: analyze event metadata associated
with each event in the set of events to identify commands received
from a peripheral device and operations performed by the processor
in response to the received commands.
11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein, as the
technician analyzes each event in the set of event, the technician
is able to perform one or more of playing the event, pausing the
event, rewinding the event, moving to a next event.
12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the analysis
provided to the user of the local computing device includes the
annotations included by the technician.
13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the technician
is analyzing the events at substantially a same time as the user of
the local computing device is performing actions associated with
the set of events.
14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the technician
is analyzing the events at a time later than when the user of the
local computing device performed actions associated with the set of
events.
15. An apparatus comprising: a processor, and a memory coupled to
the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions which,
when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: responsive
to receiving a set of events associated with an issue being
experienced by a user of a local computing device, present each
event in the set of events to a technician via a graphical user
interface of a remote computing device; for each event, responsive
to receiving an indication as to whether the event is correct or
incorrect, flag the event as either correct or incorrect; for each
incorrect flagged event, responsive to receiving an annotation of
an incorrect procedure associated with the incorrect flagged event,
annotate the event with the received annotation; responsive to the
incorrect flagged event being an operation performed by the local
computing device, communicatively connect to the local computing
device in order that the technician corrects a future operation
corresponding to the operation performed by the local computing
device; and responsive to the incorrect flagged event being an
action performed by the user of the local computing device, send an
analysis in order to inform the user of incorrect actions so as to
not perform the incorrect actions in the future.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions further
cause the processor to: parse the set of events in order to
separate the set of events into individually analyzable events,
wherein the instructions to parse the set of events in order to
separate the set of events into the individually analyzable events
further cause the processor to: analyze event metadata associated
with each event in the set of events to identify commands received
from a peripheral device and operations performed by the processor
in response to the received commands.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, as the technician analyzes
each event in the set of event, the technician is able to perform
one or more of playing the event, pausing the event, rewinding the
event, moving to a next event.
18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the analysis provided to the
user of the local computing device includes the annotations
included by the technician.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the technician is analyzing
the events at substantially a same time as the user of the local
computing device is performing actions associated with the set of
events.
20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the technician is analyzing
the events at a time later than when the user of the local
computing device performed actions associated with the set of
events.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present application relates generally to an improved
data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to
mechanisms for delivering troubleshooting support to a user of a
computing device via a remote screen that captures the user's
interactions with the computing device.
[0002] In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software
or operating system feature that allows a personal computer's
desktop environment to be run remotely from another system, either
another personal computer or server, while being displayed on both
the remote computer (server) and the personal computer (client).
Remote access may also be explained as remote control of the
personal computer by using the remote computer connected via the
Internet or another network. This is widely used by many computer
manufacturers and large businesses' help desks for technical
troubleshooting of their customers' problems.
[0003] Remote access software captures the remote technician's
mouse and keyboard input performed on the local computer (client)
and sends the resultant actions performed on the local computer to
the remote computer (server). The remote computer in turn displays
the action performed on the local computer on the remote computer.
Remote desktop sharing is accomplished through a common
client/server model. The client, or Virtual Network Computing (VNC)
viewer, is installed on a local computer and then connects to the
network via a server component, which is installed on a remote
computer. In a typical VNC session, all keystrokes and mouse clicks
are registered as if the client were actually performing tasks on
the local computer, even though the technician is actually the one
performing the keystrokes a mouse click from the remote
computer.
SUMMARY
[0004] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described herein in
the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify
key factors or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed
subject matter.
[0005] In one illustrative embodiment, a method, in a data
processing system, is provided for delivering troubleshooting
support to a user of a local computing device that captures the
user's interactions with the local computing device. The
illustrative embodiment presents each event in a set of events to a
technician via a graphical user interface of a remote computing
device in response to receiving the set of events associated with
an issue being experienced by the user of the local computing
device. For each event, the illustrative embodiment flags the event
as either correct or incorrect in response to receiving an
indication as to whether the event is correct or incorrect. For
each incorrect flagged event, the illustrative embodiment annotates
the event with a received annotation in response to receiving an
annotation of an incorrect procedure associated with the incorrect
flagged event. The illustrative embodiment communicatively connects
to the local computing device in order that the technician corrects
a future operation corresponding to the operation performed by the
local computing device in response to the incorrect flagged event
being an operation performed by the local computing device. The
illustrative embodiment sends an analysis in order to inform the
user of incorrect actions so as to not perform the incorrect
actions in the future in response to the incorrect flagged event
being an action performed by the user of the local computing
device.
[0006] In other illustrative embodiments, a computer program
product comprising a computer useable or readable medium having a
computer readable program is provided. The computer readable
program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing
device to perform various ones of, and combinations of, the
operations outlined above with regard to the method illustrative
embodiment.
[0007] In yet another illustrative embodiment, a system/apparatus
is provided. The system/apparatus may comprise one or more
processors and a memory coupled to the one or more processors. The
memory may comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or
more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform
various ones of, and combinations of, the operations outlined above
with regard to the method illustrative embodiment.
[0008] These and other features and advantages of the present
invention will be described in, or will become apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art in view of, the following detailed
description of the example embodiments of the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The invention, as well as a preferred mode of use and
further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood
by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative
embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is an example diagram of a distributed data
processing system in which aspects of the illustrative embodiments
may be implemented;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an example block diagram of a computing device in
which aspects of the illustrative embodiments may be
implemented;
[0012] FIG. 3 depicts a functional block diagram of a remote screen
mechanism that delivers troubleshooting support to a user of a
computing device through a remote screen that captures the user's
interactions with the computing device in accordance with an
illustrative embodiment; and
[0013] FIG. 4 depicts one exemplary flow diagram of the operations
performed by a remote screen mechanism in delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device that
captures the user's interactions with the computing device in
accordance with an illustrative embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The illustrative embodiments provide mechanisms for
delivering troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device
through a remote screen that captures the user's interactions with
the computing device. As noted previously, remote access software
captures the remote technician's mouse and keyboard input performed
on the local computer (client) and sends the resultant actions
performed on the local computer to the remote computer (server).
The remote computer in turn displays the action performed on the
local computer on the remote computer. Remote desktop sharing is
accomplished through a common client/server model. The client, or
Virtual Network Computing (VNC) viewer, is installed on a local
computer and then connects to the network via a server component,
which is installed on a remote computer. In a typical VNC session,
all keystrokes and mouse clicks are registered as if the client
were actually performing tasks on the local computer, even though
the technician is actually the one performing the keystrokes a
mouse click from the remote computer.
[0015] However, current remote access software provides no
information to the technician of the remote computer as to how the
user of the local computer interacts with the local computer. That
is, while the a technician accesses the local computer using the
remote access server and is able to diagnose issues with the
applications, the operating system, hardware, or the like, the
technician is not able to see if the user's interaction with the
local computer is the cause of the issues that are occurring with
the local computer. Thus, if there is an issue occurring on the
local computer that the user needs support to address, the
technician is unaware the user's actions and is unable to see what
the user is doing step by step.
[0016] To address this issue, the illustrative embodiments provide
mechanisms for delivering troubleshooting support to a user of a
computing device via a remote screen that captures the user's
interactions with the computing device. The remote screen mechanism
captures all keystrokes and mouse clicks performed by the user of
the local computer when the remote screen software is enabled.
Thus, every action performed by the user and every resultant
operations performed by the local computing device is captured and
transferred to an associated remote screen mechanism on a remote
computer of the technician for analysis. The transfer of data from
the local computer to the remote computer may be in real time or
delayed depending on the type of analysis being performed. That is,
the user of the local computer may be encountering an issue that
needs to be investigated but is not a priority. Thus, the actions
and resultant operation may be captured at one time and later sent
for analysis. However, if the issue is a priority, the actions and
resultant operations may be sent in real time for immediate
analysis by the technician.
[0017] Once the data is transferred to the remote computer, the
remote screen mechanism on the remote computer parses the actions
and resultant operations, hereinafter referred to as events, so
that the technician may analyze each event as they occur. That is,
the technician may play, pause, rewind, or the like, the events
one-by-one, so that each event may be analyzed for correctness. The
technician analyzes each event in order to determine which event is
the cause of the issue being experienced by the user. By performing
analysis in this manner, the technician is able to identify whether
the event that is causing the issue is an action being performed by
the user or an operation being performed by the local computer as a
result of an action being performed by the user thereby delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device that
accurately detects the cause of an issue even if the issue is being
caused by the user.
[0018] Before beginning the discussion of the various aspects of
the illustrative embodiments, it should first be appreciated that
throughout this description the term "mechanism" will be used to
refer to elements of the present invention that perform various
operations, functions, and the like. A "mechanism," as the term is
used herein, may be an implementation of the functions or aspects
of the illustrative embodiments in the form of an apparatus, a
procedure, or a computer program product. In the case of a
procedure, the procedure is implemented by one or more devices,
apparatus, computers, data processing systems, or the like. In the
case of a computer program product, the logic represented by
computer code or instructions embodied in or on the computer
program product is executed by one or more hardware devices in
order to implement the functionality or perform the operations
associated with the specific "mechanism." Thus, the mechanisms
described herein may be implemented as specialized hardware,
software executing on general purpose hardware, software
instructions stored on a medium such that the instructions are
readily executable by specialized or general purpose hardware, a
procedure or method for executing the functions, or a combination
of any of the above.
[0019] The present description and claims may make use of the terms
"a," "at least one of," and "one or more of" with regard to
particular features and elements of the illustrative embodiments.
It should be appreciated that these terms and phrases are intended
to state that there is at least one of the particular feature or
element present in the particular illustrative embodiment, but that
more than one can also be present. That is, these terms/phrases are
not intended to limit the description or claims to a single
feature/element being present or require that a plurality of such
features/elements be present. To the contrary, these terms/phrases
only require at least a single feature/element with the possibility
of a plurality of such features/elements being within the scope of
the description and claims.
[0020] Moreover, it should be appreciated that the use of the term
"engine," if used herein with regard to describing embodiments and
features of the invention, is not intended to be limiting of any
particular implementation for accomplishing and/or performing the
actions, steps, processes, etc., attributable to and/or performed
by the engine. An engine may be, but is not limited to, software,
hardware and/or firmware or any combination thereof that performs
the specified functions including, but not limited to, any use of a
general and/or specialized processor in combination with
appropriate software loaded or stored in a machine readable memory
and executed by the processor. Further, any name associated with a
particular engine is, unless otherwise specified, for purposes of
convenience of reference and not intended to be limiting to a
specific implementation. Additionally, any functionality attributed
to an engine may be equally performed by multiple engines,
incorporated into and/or combined with the functionality of another
engine of the same or different type, or distributed across one or
more engines of various configurations.
[0021] In addition, it should be appreciated that the following
description uses a plurality of various examples for various
elements of the illustrative embodiments to further illustrate
example implementations of the illustrative embodiments and to aid
in the understanding of the mechanisms of the illustrative
embodiments. These examples intended to be non-limiting and are not
exhaustive of the various possibilities for implementing the
mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments. It will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the present
description that there are many other alternative implementations
for these various elements that may be utilized in addition to, or
in replacement of, the examples provided herein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0022] Thus, the illustrative embodiments may be utilized in many
different types of data processing environments. In order to
provide a context for the description of the specific elements and
functionality of the illustrative embodiments, FIGS. 1 and 2 are
provided hereafter as example environments in which aspects of the
illustrative embodiments may be implemented. It should be
appreciated that FIGS. 1 and 2 are only examples and are not
intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the
environments in which aspects or embodiments of the present
invention may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted
environments may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of an example
distributed data processing system in which aspects of the
illustrative embodiments may be implemented. Distributed data
processing system 100 may include a network of computers in which
aspects of the illustrative embodiments may be implemented. The
distributed data processing system 100 contains at least one
network 102, which is the medium used to provide communication
links between various devices and computers connected together
within distributed data processing system 100. The network 102 may
include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or
fiber optic cables.
[0024] In the depicted example, server 104 and server 106 are
connected to network 102 along with storage unit 108. In addition,
clients 110, 112, and 114 are also connected to network 102. These
clients 110, 112, and 114 may be, for example, personal computers,
network computers, storage device, or the like. In the depicted
example, server 104 provides data, such as boot files, operating
system images, and applications to the clients 110, 112, and 114.
Clients 110, 112, and 114 are clients to server 104 in the depicted
example. Distributed data processing system 100 may include
additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown.
[0025] In the depicted example, distributed data processing system
100 is the Internet with network 102 representing a worldwide
collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to
communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a
backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes
or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial,
governmental, educational and other computer systems that route
data and messages. Of course, the distributed data processing
system 100 may also be implemented to include a number of different
types of networks, such as for example, an intranet, a local area
network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the like. As stated
above, FIG. 1 is intended as an example, not as an architectural
limitation for different embodiments of the present invention, and
therefore, the particular elements shown in FIG. 1 should not be
considered limiting with regard to the environments in which the
illustrative embodiments of the present invention may be
implemented.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, one or more of the computing devices,
e.g., server 104, may be specifically configured to implement a
remote screen mechanism for delivering troubleshooting support to a
user of a computing device through a remote screen that captures
the user's interactions with the computing device. The configuring
of the computing device may comprise the providing of application
specific hardware, firmware, or the like to facilitate the
performance of the operations and generation of the outputs
described herein with regard to the illustrative embodiments. The
configuring of the computing device may also, or alternatively,
comprise the providing of software applications stored in one or
more storage devices and loaded into memory of a computing device,
such as server 104, for causing one or more hardware processors of
the computing device to execute the software applications that
configure the processors to perform the operations and generate the
outputs described herein with regard to the illustrative
embodiments. Moreover, any combination of application specific
hardware, firmware, software applications executed on hardware, or
the like, may be used without departing from the spirit and scope
of the illustrative embodiments.
[0027] It should be appreciated that once the computing device is
configured in one of these ways, the computing device becomes a
specialized computing device specifically configured to implement
the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments and is not a general
purpose computing device. Moreover, as described hereafter, the
implementation of the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments
improves the functionality of the computing device and provides a
useful and concrete result that facilitates delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device through a
remote screen that captures the user's interactions with the
computing device.
[0028] As noted above, the mechanisms of the illustrative
embodiments utilize specifically configured computing devices, or
data processing systems, to perform the operations for delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device through a
remote screen that captures the user's interactions with the
computing device. These computing devices, or data processing
systems, may comprise various hardware elements which are
specifically configured, either through hardware configuration,
software configuration, or a combination of hardware and software
configuration, to implement one or more of the systems/subsystems
described herein. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of just one example
data processing system in which aspects of the illustrative
embodiments may be implemented. Data processing system 200 is an
example of a computer, such as server 104 in FIG. 1, in which
computer usable code or instructions implementing the processes and
aspects of the illustrative embodiments of the present invention
may be located and/or executed so as to achieve the operation,
output, and external effects of the illustrative embodiments as
described herein.
[0029] In the depicted example, data processing system 200 employs
a hub architecture including north bridge and memory controller hub
(NB/MCH) 202 and south bridge and input/output (I/O) controller hub
(SB/ICH) 204. Processing unit 206, main memory 208, and graphics
processor 210 are connected to NB/MCH 202. Graphics processor 210
may be connected to NB/MCH 202 through an accelerated graphics port
(AGP).
[0030] In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter
212 connects to SB/ICH 204. Audio adapter 216, keyboard and mouse
adapter 220, modem 222, read only memory (ROM) 224, hard disk drive
(HDD) 226, CD-ROM drive 230, universal serial bus (USB) ports and
other communication ports 232, and PCI/PCIe devices 234 connect to
SB/ICH 204 through bus 238 and bus 240. PCI/PCIe devices may
include, for example, Ethernet adapters, add-in cards, and PC cards
for notebook computers. PCI uses a card bus controller, while PCIe
does not. ROM 224 may be, for example, a flash basic input/output
system (BIOS).
[0031] HDD 226 and CD-ROM drive 230 connect to SB/ICH 204 through
bus 240. HDD 226 and CD-ROM drive 230 may use, for example, an
integrated drive electronics (IDE) or serial advanced technology
attachment (SATA) interface. Super I/O (SIO) device 236 may be
connected to SB/ICH 204.
[0032] An operating system runs on processing unit 206. The
operating system coordinates and provides control of various
components within the data processing system 200 in FIG. 2. As a
client, the operating system may be a commercially available
operating system such as Microsoft.RTM. Windows 7.RTM.. An
object-oriented programming system, such as the Java.TM.
programming system, may run in conjunction with the operating
system and provides calls to the operating system from Java.TM.
programs or applications executing on data processing system
200.
[0033] As a server, data processing system 200 may be, for example,
an IBM eServer.TM. System P.RTM. computer system, Power.TM.
processor based computer system, or the like, running the Advanced
Interactive Executive (AIX.RTM.) operating system or the LINUX.RTM.
operating system. Data processing system 200 may be a symmetric
multiprocessor (SMP) system including a plurality of processors in
processing unit 206. Alternatively, a single processor system may
be employed.
[0034] Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented
programming system, and applications or programs are located on
storage devices, such as HDD 226, and may be loaded into main
memory 208 for execution by processing unit 206. The processes for
illustrative embodiments of the present invention may be performed
by processing unit 206 using computer usable program code, which
may be located in a memory such as, for example, main memory 208,
ROM 224, or in one or more peripheral devices 226 and 230, for
example.
[0035] A bus system, such as bus 238 or bus 240 as shown in FIG. 2,
may be comprised of one or more buses. Of course, the bus system
may be implemented using any type of communication fabric or
architecture that provides for a transfer of data between different
components or devices attached to the fabric or architecture. A
communication unit, such as modem 222 or network adapter 212 of
FIG. 2, may include one or more devices used to transmit and
receive data. A memory may be, for example, main memory 208, ROM
224, or a cache such as found in NB/MCH 202 in FIG. 2.
[0036] As mentioned above, in some illustrative embodiments the
mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments may be implemented as
application specific hardware, firmware, or the like, application
software stored in a storage device, such as HDD 226 and loaded
into memory, such as main memory 208, for executed by one or more
hardware processors, such as processing unit 206, or the like. As
such, the computing device shown in FIG. 2 becomes specifically
configured to implement the mechanisms of the illustrative
embodiments and specifically configured to perform the operations
and generate the outputs described hereafter with regard to the a
remote screen mechanism that delivers troubleshooting support to a
user of a computing device through a remote screen that captures
the user's interactions with the computing device.
[0037] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the
hardware in FIGS. 1 and 2 may vary depending on the implementation.
Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash
memory, equivalent non-volatile memory, or optical disk drives and
the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware
depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. Also, the processes of the illustrative
embodiments may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing
system, other than the SMP system mentioned previously, without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0038] Moreover, the data processing system 200 may take the form
of any of a number of different data processing systems including
client computing devices, server computing devices, a tablet
computer, laptop computer, telephone or other communication device,
a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. In some
illustrative examples, data processing system 200 may be a portable
computing device that is configured with flash memory to provide
non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or
user-generated data, for example. Essentially, data processing
system 200 may be any known or later developed data processing
system without architectural limitation.
[0039] FIG. 3 depicts a functional block diagram of a remote screen
mechanism that delivers troubleshooting support to a user of a
computing device through a remote screen that captures the user's
interactions with the computing device in accordance with an
illustrative embodiment. Distributed data processing system 300
comprises local computing device 302 coupled to remote computing
device 312, which may both be devices, such as personal computers,
network computers, storage device, servers, or the like. Local
computing device 302 may be coupled to remote computing device 312
through a network 322 that is, for example, the Internet, a local
area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
[0040] Local computing device 302, which is operated by user 304,
comprises remote screen agent mechanism 306. When enable, remote
screen agent mechanism 306 captures all keystrokes, mouse clicks,
or the like, performed by user 304 when interacting with local
computing device 302. Additionally, remote screen agent mechanism
306 captures all operations resulting from the keystrokes, mouse
clicks, or the like, that local computing device 302 performs.
Responsive to remote screen agent mechanism 306 being enable, a
communication connection is established through network 322 to
remote screen host mechanism 316. Then, as remote screen agent
mechanism 306 captures the keystrokes, mouse clicks, or the like,
performed by user 304 and the resultant operations performed by
local computing device 302, hereinafter referred to as a set of
events 308, remote screen agent mechanism 306 stores the set of
events 308 in local storage 310 and sends the set of events 308 to
remote screen host mechanism 316 over the communication
connection.
[0041] Upon receiving the events from remote screen agent mechanism
306, remote screen host mechanism 316 stores the events as a set of
events 318 associated with local computing device 302 in local
storage 320 for analysis. Technician 314 then interacts with remote
screen host mechanism 316 and remote computing device 312 to
analyze the set of events 318 one-by-one. That is, when technician
314 begins analysis of the set of events 318, remote screen host
mechanism 316 parses each event in the set of events thereby
separating the set of events into individually analyzable events
based on, for example, actions performed by the user, operations
performed by the local computing device, or the like. Remote screen
host mechanism 316 performs this parsing by analyzing the
associated event metadata that identifying commands received by,
for example, the mouse, keyboard, or other peripheral device, and
metadata identify operation performed by the processor, in response
to the received commands. This way, technician 314 may analyze each
event one-by-one for correctness.
[0042] During analysis of each event, technician 314 may interact
with remote screen host mechanism 316 to play, pause, rewind, or
the like, the event so that the event may be analyzed for
correctness. Technician 314 may tag each event with either an
incorrect flag or correct flag during the analysis. Once the event
is tagged, remote screen host mechanism 316 may determine whether
there is another event to analyze. If there is another event, then
remote screen host mechanism 316 presents the next event to
technician 314 for analysis. If there is not another event, remote
screen host mechanism 316 may present those events that are flagged
as incorrect for follow-up annotation by technician 314. It should
be noted that technician 314 may also annotate any incorrect events
during the initial analysis. Once all the events have been analyzed
and annotated, technician 314 may prepare an analysis document for
the set of events 318 indicating those events that were incorrect.
If incorrect events are identified that occurred in the operations
performed by local computing device 302, then technician 314 may
communicatively connect to local computing device 302 through
remote screen host mechanism 316 and remote screen agent mechanism
306 to correct those issues with local computing device 302. If
incorrect events are identified that occurred in the actions
performed by user 304 of local computing device 302, then
technician 314 may send the analysis document to user 304 so that
the user may be informed of the of the incorrect actions so as to
not perform the incorrect actions again.
[0043] Accordingly, by performing analysis in this manner,
technician 314 is able to identify whether one or more events
causing the issue is an action being performed by user 304 or is an
operation being performed by local computing device 302 as a result
of an action being performed by user 304. Thus, remote screen host
mechanism 316 and remote screen agent mechanism 306 operate in
conjunction with one another to delivering troubleshooting support
to user 304 of local computing device 302 and accurately detects
the cause of an issue regardless of whether the issue is caused by
user 304 or local computing device 304.
[0044] The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a
computer program product. The computer program product may include
a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer
readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to
carry out aspects of the present invention.
[0045] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible
device that can retain and store instructions for use by an
instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium
may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage
device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an
electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or
any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of
more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium
includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk,
a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static
random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a
floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or
raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon,
and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable
storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being
transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves
propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,
light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
[0046] Computer readable program instructions described herein can
be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or
external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a
local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical
transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter
card or network interface in each computing/processing device
receives computer readable program instructions from the network
and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage
in a computer readable storage medium within the respective
computing/processing device.
[0047] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out
operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions,
instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine
instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware
instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object
code written in any combination of one or more programming
languages, including an object oriented programming language such
as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural
programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or
similar programming languages. The computer readable program
instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on
the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on
the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on
the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote
computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type
of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area
network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry
including, for example, programmable logic circuitry,
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays
(PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by
utilizing state information of the computer readable program
instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to
perform aspects of the present invention.
[0048] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable
program instructions.
[0049] These computer readable program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in
a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a
programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable
storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an
article of manufacture including instructions which implement
aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block
diagram block or blocks.
[0050] The computer readable program instructions may also be
loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing
apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps
to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or
other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that
the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable
apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0051] FIG. 4 depicts one exemplary flow diagram of the operations
performed by a remote screen mechanism in delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device that
captures the user's interactions with the computing device in
accordance with an illustrative embodiment. As the operation
begins, a remote screen host mechanism executing on a remote
computing device receives a set of events associated with an issue
being experienced by a user of a local computing device (step 402).
The remote screen host mechanism stores the set of events as being
associated with local computing device (step 404). The remote
screen host mechanism parses the set of events in order to separate
the set of events into individually analyzable events (step 406)
based on, for example, actions performed by the user, operations
performed by the local computing device, or the like. The remote
screen host mechanism performs this parsing by analyzing the
associated event metadata that identifying commands received by,
for example, the mouse, keyboard, or other peripheral device, and
metadata identify operation performed by the processor, in response
to the received commands. The remote screen host mechanism then
presents the first/next event in the set of events to a technician
analyzing the events in a graphical user interface of a remote
computing device (step 408).
[0052] During analysis of each event, the remote screen host
mechanism may receive a command from the technician to perform an
operations such as to play, pause, rewind, or the like, the event;
to tag the event with either an incorrect flag or correct flag; to
annotate the event as feedback to the user; or to move to next
event (step 410). If at step 410 the remote screen host mechanism
detects an action other than to move to the next event, the remote
screen host mechanism executes that appropriate command with regard
to the current event (step 412), with the operation returning to
step 410 thereafter. If at step 410 the remote screen host
mechanism detects a command to move to the next event, the remote
screen host mechanism determines whether there is another event in
the set of events (step 414). If at step 414 there is another event
in the set of events, the operation returns to step 408.
[0053] If at step 414 there is not another event, the remote screen
host mechanism presents those events that are flagged as incorrect
to the technician at which time the technician may prepare an
analysis document for the set of events indicating those events
that were incorrect (step 416). If an incorrect event is identified
that occurred in the operations performed by local computing
device, the technician may communicatively connect to local
computing device through remote screen host mechanism and a remote
screen agent mechanism operating on the local computing device to
correct those issues with the local computing device (step 418). If
incorrect events are identified that occurred in the actions
performed by the user of the local computing device, the technician
may cause the remote screen host mechanism to send the analysis
document to the user so that the user may be informed of the of the
incorrect actions so as to not perform the incorrect actions again
(step 420). Once all the incorrect events are addressed at steps
418 and 420, the remote screen host mechanism end operations.
[0054] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one
or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in
the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations
of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can
be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that
perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
[0055] Thus, the illustrative embodiments provide mechanisms for
delivering troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device
via a remote screen that captures the user's interactions with the
computing device. The remote screen mechanism captures all
keystrokes, mouse clicks, or the like, performed by the user of the
local computing device when the remote screen software is enabled.
Every action performed by the user and every resultant operations
performed by the local computing device is captured and transferred
to an associated remote screen mechanism on a remote computer of
the technician for analysis. Once the data is transferred to the
remote computer, the remote screen mechanism on the remote computer
parses the actions and resultant operations, i.e. events, so that
the technician may analyze each event as they occur. The technician
plays, pauses, rewinds, or the like, the events one-by-one, so that
each event may be analyzed for correctness. By performing analysis
in this manner, the technician is able to identify whether the
event that is causing the issue is an action being performed by the
user or an operation being performed by the local computer as a
result of an action being performed by the user thereby delivering
troubleshooting support to a user of a computing device that
accurately detects the cause of an issue even if the issue is being
caused by the user.
[0056] As noted above, it should be appreciated that the
illustrative embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware
embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment
containing both hardware and software elements. In one example
embodiment, the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments are
implemented in software or program code, which includes but is not
limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.
[0057] A data processing system suitable for storing and/or
executing program code will include at least one processor coupled
directly or indirectly to memory elements through a communication
bus, such as a system bus, for example. The memory elements can
include local memory employed during actual execution of the
program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide
temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce
the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during
execution. The memory may be of various types including, but not
limited to, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, DRAM, SRAM, Flash memory,
solid state memory, and the like.
[0058] Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to
keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the
system either directly or through intervening wired or wireless I/O
interfaces and/or controllers, or the like. I/O devices may take
many different forms other than conventional keyboards, displays,
pointing devices, and the like, such as for example communication
devices coupled through wired or wireless connections including,
but not limited to, smart phones, tablet computers, touch screen
devices, voice recognition devices, and the like. Any known or
later developed I/O device is intended to be within the scope of
the illustrative embodiments.
[0059] Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable
the data processing system to become coupled to other data
processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through
intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modems and
Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of
network adapters for wired communications. Wireless communication
based network adapters may also be utilized including, but not
limited to, 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless communication adapters,
Bluetooth wireless adapters, and the like. Any known or later
developed network adapters are intended to be within the spirit and
scope of the present invention.
[0060] The description of the present invention has been presented
for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended
to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed.
Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the described embodiments. The embodiment was chosen and
described in order to best explain the principles of the invention,
the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill
in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with
various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. The terminology used herein was chosen to best
explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical
application or technical improvement over technologies found in the
marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to
understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
* * * * *